Melodies and Memories
by flyswimr01
Summary: Katniss and Cato have been lifelong friends, and are entering their senior year, and mayhem and trouble ensue as they realize they might be falling for each other. AU High School. It's better than it sounds, I suck at summaries! Rated M for language and sexual content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Springsteen

**Author's Note: **So I've been talking to one of my best friends lately and we were talking about my writing and I realized how much I missed writing (I took a hiatus from my other Kato/Catoniss fanfic) and this is kind of modeled after that. But it's in high school. Because I'm a high school girl. And even though it's summer, I can't think of anything better to write right now. So yeah!

Also for some reason I've had this urge to put in song lyrics relating to a certain chapter before every chapter. And I only listen to country music…well, sucks for you guys who don't like country.

Like always, read and review! Comments are very much appreciated :)

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_When I think about you_

_I think about seventeen_

_I think about my old Jeep_

_I think about the stars in the sky._

_Funny how a melody sounds like a memory_

_Like the soundtrack to a July Saturday night_

_Springsteen._

"GIVE ME BACK MY IPOD!" Katniss Everdeen screeched at the top of her lungs, snatching away at her best friend and biggest enemy, seventeen-year-old Cato Evans.

"What iPod?" Cato asked playfully, tossing the small black iPod back and forth in his hands and moving his arms out of Katniss' reach. He ran around the pool deck, showing the small device off and taunting his friend. "This iPod? This is mine."

"Shut up, Cato! And give it back! I don't trust anyone with it, and certainly not _you!"_

Cato slipped the iPod into the right pocket of his maroon colored basketball shorts. "Finder's keepers, loser's weepers! So I guess _you're _a loser. A weeping one, too." He danced around Katniss, avoiding her flailing limbs.

Katniss dug her hands into Cato's left pocket and grasped the device, but Cato moved too fast and she lost her grip.

"Ooh, sorry, Catnip! And besides," Cato reached into the other pocket—the one that Katniss hadn't dug into—and pulled out her precious iPod. "That's my phone. This is _my _iPod."

Katniss' grey eyes burned with anger. "Give them back, please," she said through clenched teeth with the most patience she could muster. She outstretched her palms in front of her, only about a foot from each other, gesturing for her childhood friend to return the iPod to her.

Cato looked at the two palms, and smirked. "Aww, Katniss, you want a hug? Here you go," he said as his 6-foot-2 frame enveloped—well, more like engulfed—her much smaller 5-foot-3 structure.

Katniss sighed. "I hate you."

Cato laughed, and gave her back the electronic device. "Here. You're too much fun to play with. Honestly, you're like a little kid."

"Shut up, I am not!"

"The brain of a forty-year-old with the mindset of a six-year-old," Cato joked as both teenagers sat on the old bench that he and Katniss had painted when they were, in fact, six years old. "You're really quite the freakshow."

Katniss stuck her tongue out at him, but retracted it quickly before Cato could grab it with his fingers. She remembered the last time he'd done so, and it resulted in ten minutes of Cato laughing at her while she tried to tell him to let go.

Cato laughed at Katniss' action, recalling the same memory. He looked around at the pool—the neighborhood pool where so many kids grew up, where countless memories had been made. The pool had a swim team which he joined at the age of four, the youngest anyone had joined it, and he quickly became the fastest swimmer to have ever swam for Panem's finest and fastest team, "District 2". This summer, he coached for the team as one of the two head coaches, and Katniss served as an assistant coach for the four to six year olds who were still on the developmental team. Cato had met Katniss at the pool at eight years old, and he remembered how awful she was at swimming and how he would make fun of her constantly. They were loathed enemies until the age of eleven, when they realized that they had a lot in common and would be better off as friends—well, more like siblings. Their families spent so much time with each other, it was practically as if they were related. Cato loved Katniss—as a sister, of course. He enjoyed her company, and though sometimes he felt as if there was a little more to it than platonic love, he quickly cast the thought aside. Such an idea was preposterous.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm?" Cato was woken up from his reminiscing.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "You've been sitting here staring at the water for the past three minutes."

Cato flashed his signature smirk. "Just thinking about how _terrible _you were at swimming back in the day. Oh wait, I forgot. You still are!"

Anger darted in Katniss' eyes once again. "Well I remember how much of a _dick _you were back in the day. Oh wait, I forgot, _you still are!"_

Cato exaggerated a gasp, and feigned hurt in his sapphire-blue eyes. "Goodness, Katniss, language! We don't want to be negatively influencing young children in this public environment."

Katniss punched Cato's shoulder as hard as she could, and grinned at him as he winced in pain. "Says _you! _Mister Carefree-I-Don't-Care-What-I-Do."

"I care what I do! I just care if it's fun or not. And I care about not getting caught," Cato winked.

Katniss shrugged and averted her eyes, pretending Cato's actions were no big deal as she fiddled with the single braid that fell onto her right shoulder. She was aware of the things the seventeen-year-old swimming sensation participated in, and she wasn't so fond of them. If she wasn't as close to Cato as she was, she would've immediately called their friendship off. Katniss was raised to value herself and have friends who had strong morals and values, too—not teenage boys who partied and got completely wasted every week, and certainly not teenage boys who put girls in—well, compromising—situations.

Cato sensed Katniss' slight hesitation at his words, and immediately regretted it. At the same time, however, he couldn't help himself. He was a seventeen-year-old boy, captain of the swim team since sophomore year, had the looks and chiseled body which made the entire male population envious, and was entering his senior year of high school. What was he supposed to do? Sit home and watch episodes on Animal Planet? He knew Katniss was uncomfortable with it, and he wished she'd warm up to it a little bit. Maybe then, they might actually be able to—

"Are you excited for senior year?" Katniss broke the awkward silence between them, consequently interrupting Cato's thoughts.

Cato nodded. "Hell yeah. You? First time in a public school."

Katniss smiled. She had been homeschooled all of her life by her father, but when he passed away earlier during the summer, she and her younger sister, Primrose, realized that they'd have to go to public school for the first time in their entire lives. It wouldn't be so bad if Katniss wasn't the youngest in her grade—she had started school early, so she was still sixteen going into senior year—and if she wasn't going to be in the same classes as all of the girls Cato used to constantly complain about. "It doesn't sound too hard. Plus I'll have you to protect me from anyone trying to steal my books."

Cato laughed at her remarks. "God Catnip, you are such a fucking nerd—good thing you don't look too shabby though, or you'd be hanging out with the marching band."

"What's so bad about the marching band?"

Cato gave her a quizzical look. "Seriously? They're like the biggest losers in the school. Them and the computer team are probably tied for the bottom of the period."

Katniss shrugged. "They don't sound too bad."

"Well you gotta lot to learn, kid."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that, I'm not that much younger than you!"

"Are you kidding me? You're practically a baby! You've never done anything bad in your entire life," Cato teased.

"That's not true! Remember when I—"

"Stole money from Prim? Ooooooh, what a _rebel!_"

Katniss hit Cato in the arm again.

"Ow!"

"You deserved it!"

Cato chuckled. "Alright, well, you need a ride home? It's getting pretty dark, plus school starts in two days—I'm sure a nerd like you wants to get a head start on her homework."

Katniss stood up and brushed off her jean shorts. "Sure."

As Katniss began to follow her childhood friend out of the pool area and into the lot where his Jeep truck was parked, she couldn't help but admire his physical features. He was quite the specimen—dirty blonde hair tousled in the perfect way, blue eyes that switched between blue, green, and grey depending on his mood, a killer six-pack and the body of an Olympic swimmer, and his signature smirk that had every girl in Panem squealing. _Stop thinking about him, _Katniss thought to herself. _He's like your brother, not some guy you can start fawning over like the rest of the girls._

Katniss sat silent in the two-minute car ride from the pool to her house, as Cato played the country music radio station in his Jeep and sang out loud to it.

"Wanna hop in the back for a bit?"

"Huh?" Katniss said, slightly startled and very confused.

"Hop in the back, we can lie down and look at the stars like we used to."

For some reason, Katniss felt her heart swell a little bit. "Mmhmm. Sure."

Cato helped his friend hop into the back of his Jeep truck, where a blanket already covered the hard metal of the car. He had kept it there since two years before, when he first started driving, in case he wanted to stop and gaze at the stars. It may have sounded silly to some people, but it was calming for Cato. It allowed him to relax, and most of all, think clearly.

Cato and Katniss lay down next to each other in the truck, looking up at the stars.

"There's the Big Dipper," Katniss stated, pointing up at the ever-so-large night sky.

Cato smiled at his best friend. "Yep."

"Cato?"

"Yeah, Katniss?"

Katniss bit her lip. "I'm—I'm kind of nervous about school. What if no one likes me? What if I don't have any friends? I only know you, and Peeta, and Gale, and Clove, and she's not even in our grade and she's your younger sister so of course I would know her! I don't know anyone else."

Cato chuckled at her worries. "It's fine. You're like a sister to Clove, she fucking adores you and wouldn't leave your side anyways. Plus I'm sure you'll make friends, you're pretty decent when you're not judging or making smartass comments all the time. And you're not ugly or deformed or anything like that, so you'll get some of the boys' attention."

Cato hated saying that last sentence, and immediately wanted to take it back. He hated the thought of any boy from his school even touching Katniss. Peeta Mellark had swam with Katniss and Cato since he was little, but Cato was almost certain he was gay, and Gale Hawthorne, another swimmer, had a girlfriend already. But any of the other douchebags at his school—sure, he was just as much of a douchebag, probably even more, but still. He'd rip their heads off if they even lay a finger on her.

"Cato?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you gonna ditch me when we get to school? Like, be with all the pretty cheerleader girls and the swim guys?"

Cato sat up and shook his head. "Naw, Catnip. Promise. I wouldn't do that to you—at least, not for the first day," he teased.

Katniss hopped out of the truck and onto her driveway. "Well, okay. You should probably go home now, your parents are probably wondering why you're so late."

Cato shrugged, climbed back into the driver's seat, and rolled down the windows. "Alright, just don't worry too much. It's not that bad, I promise."

"Okay," Katniss agreed as Cato began to pull out of the driveway. "Bye! Drive safely!"

Cato waved his hand out of his window and as he drove away, he couldn't help but feel like there should have been something more to that time spent in the back of the truck. Something was missing—he just couldn't put his finger on it. Little did he know, the girl becoming smaller and smaller in the distance felt the same way.


	2. Chapter 2: Fifteen

**Author's Note: **The *updated* version of Chapter 2, thanks Orange Pudding for catching my mistake! I wrote the chapter and then wrote the last two pages a few hours later so I sort of forgot what I'd written earlier (:

Thank you all so much for all the favorites/reviews/etc! It honestly means so much to me and after swim practice today (I also swim, just like Cato!) I sprinted home and started writing more. Sorry this chapter is so short though, I have some good ideas for the next few chapters that I think you guys will really, really like!

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW. Woo! Also shout out to everyone who loves Eric Church (:

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_You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors,_

_It's the morning of your very first day._

_You say hi to your friends you ain't seen in a while,_

_Try and stay out of everybody's way._

Katniss woke up to the blaring of a car horn in the driveway just outside of her room, and sat straight up in her queen-sized bed. _7:33, _her bedside alarm clock read. _Crap, _Katniss thought to herself. Cato was supposed to pick her up at 7:30.

Katniss dashed to the window, still dressed in a plain grey cami and pajama shorts from Victoria's Secret, and saw Cato standing next to his huge Jeep truck in the Everdeens' driveway.

"Hey, princess!" Cato called mockingly. "You might want your beauty sleep but school starts in half an hour and I kinda want to graduate!"

Katniss rolled her eyes at the boy's use of one of her most hated pet names she gave him. Princess. Cupcake. Catnip. Nerd. She quickly darted to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face and arranged her hair in her signature Dutch side braid. She didn't bother applying any makeup—her face was pretty clear and she had always preferred a clean face—and changed into the khaki-colored shorts, sandals, and blue lace tank top she had set aside the day before. She grabbed a banana from the kitchen counter as she darted out the door and into the passenger seat Cato's Jeep.

Cato hummed the tune to Eric Church's _Springsteen _as he climbed in his own driver's seat and closed the car door behind him. Turning the engine on and blaring country music through the windows, he began to drive to Panem High School, where him and Katniss would begin their senior years.

"You excited, nerd?" he asked, putting on his Aviator sunglasses and pulling into the school parking lot.

Katniss fiddled with her fingers and looked at the massive, looming school with hundreds of students filing into it. "Sure?"

"Well, it's high school. Sometimes it's the fucking shit and sometimes it just blows."

"Good to know."

Cato parked his Jeep into one of the most coveted spots in the parking lot, the spot usually reserved for the star quarterback on the football team. This year, he would be king of the school, instead of the lame football kids or the try-hard baseball tools. He climbed out of the Jeep and checked his hair in the side mirror. Perfect. His sandy hair was gelled perfectly, not completely flat but not a faux-hawk, either. His blue eyes were piercing, and his khaki shorts and navy slightly-fitted "Speedo Junior Nationals" shirt toned down the dark-brown leather Sperrys his feet donned. He had to admit it—he looked good.

"Yo, Evans!" a familiar voice called. It was Marvel Furst, Cato's best friend at the school and captain of the lacrosse team. Though Cato usually hated the lacrosse players and their stupid mid-calf socks/sandal combination, Marvel had proved to be a loyal friend, wingman, and confidant.

The familiar smirk appeared on Cato's face as he waved hello to Marvel and the other teens next to him. "Hey, Furst! Still dressing like a douchebag, I see?"

Marvel pointed at his lacrosse penny, shorts, and mid-calf socks and Sperrys. "What, these? Nah, it's the latest trend! You wouldn't know anything about that, being half-naked all the time!"

Cato and Katniss crossed over to the other group as they all subconsciously formed a sort of circle.

"Who's the chick, Evans?"

"This is Katniss—the homeschooled one from my neighborhood, she's spending her senior year here now."

Katniss managed a weak smile, still nervous about her first day in a public school and meeting so many people that she'd heard Cato talk about at the pool. "Hi."

Marvel chuckled. "I'm Marvel. I'm on the lacrosse team. This is Finnick Odair, Gale Hawthorne, Rue Sandstone, and Caroline Ward. I think you already know Gale, he swims with you guys, right?"

Katniss nodded. "Hey, Gale!"

The tall, dark-haired boy grinned. "Hey, Kat."

"ANYWAYS," Marvel interrupted. "We've got our first lacrosse scrimmage after school, so if you wanna come—there's gonna be a party at my house afterwards, too. There's gonna be a lot of food and people and—"

"Katniss doesn't drink," Cato interjected. "Plus, she'll be up all night studying so she can get into Yale."

Marvel winked at Katniss. "Hmm, the studious type. I dig that."

A mixture of anger, jealousy, and frustration flashed in Cato's eyes, which were now turning a slight grey. "Back off, Marvel."

Marvel lifted his hands in defeat. "Hey, man, just a joke."

The bell signaling the start of first period began to ring, and Katniss became increasingly more nervous as more and more kids started to file past them and into the school. As she walked inside the school building (which had been renovated quite recently), she became anxious as she realized that every hallway practically looked the same. Katniss fiddled around in her backpack until she found the schedule that she had printed out the night before.

Name: Katniss Maria Everdeen Grade: 12

AP Language/Composition Trinket

AP Calculus BC Abernathy

AP Physics Harrison

AP Government Zack

AP Psychology Mason

DNA 1/DNA 2 Copper

AP French Fanet

"Where ya headed off to, nerd?" Katniss heard a familiar voice ask. She looked up, her stormy grey eyes meeting Cato's piercing blue ones.

"AP Language and Composition?" Katniss answered, still looking down at her schedule. How was she supposed to find the classes if it didn't even tell her what room or wing of the school they were all in?

Cato snatched the piece of paper from her hand. "Lemme see that," he said as he scanned the paper. "Damn, nerd. All APs and one post-AP—you should join the Mathletes or something. Except we don't have a weird rapping Indian guy at our school, sorry."

Katniss raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Cato looked down at Katniss' small frame. "Um, Mean Girls reference?"

"I never watched it."

Cato laughed. "Of course you haven't. Anyways, I'm headed down to AP Lit with McConnaughey and her room's right next to Trinket's, so I can walk you down if you want."

Katniss nodded, following Cato down one of the hallways. As she looked at the white-and-blue painted walls and trophy cases and lockers that lined them, she couldn't help but be awestruck. The huge building was exponentially larger than the tiny room where her dad had taught her and Prim since they were little kids.

"Alright, well, here we are," Cato said as he walked Katniss to Room 213, the AP Lang class taught by Effie Trinket. The teacher was a total freak and had a different hair style and hair color every week, but was nice enough if you got over her crazy, high-pitched antics.

Katniss peered into the room, in which about three-quarters of the seats were full. The teacher had magenta-pink hair, pale white skin (Katniss couldn't tell if it was makeup or if the teacher was actually that fair), and magenta lips. This was going to be nothing like school with her father.

Cato tapped Katniss on the shoulder. "Alright, I've gotta go. If you need anything, text me, alright?"

Katniss nodded in agreement, making her way to the vacant seat in the middle of the classroom as Cato disappeared from the doorway. It was far away from the front of the class to not be picked on constantly, but it wasn't too far to the point where she couldn't see the whiteboard attached to the front wall.

As she began to take her notebooks and pencils out for class from her backpack, a voice came from behind her.

"Is that Cato Evans I saw you with?"

Katniss turned around and came face-to-face with a girl who resembled the models in the magazines that Katniss would see all the time at Barnes & Noble. The girl's shiny, smooth golden blonde locks fell down her back in a perfect arrangement of waves and braids, while her emerald green eyes sparkled and matched the emerald green charm around her neck. Katniss nodded, not sure what to make of this girl who had approached her, the new girl in school.

"What's your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen. I'm new here."

The girl giggled. "I know. I guessed so. Cato's a hottie, isn't he? We dated on-and-off and hook up every so often. He's a dreamboat."

Katniss tried to hide the disgust she immediately felt towards the girl at those words. She was sitting in front of a real-life Barbie doll who thought Cato was like a piece of meat. "Uh, yeah."

Barbie tossed part of her hair over her shoulder, and tapped her new French-manicured nails on her phone keyboard. "I'm Glimmer Duke, by the way. My dad is the CEO of Duke Enterprises, he's like the 13th richest person in the world right now."

_Glimmer._ Katniss had to muster every ounce of good manners she had in her body in order to restrain herself from tearing the girl's head off. She had heard about Glimmer since her and Cato were in the seventh grade—Glimmer was the girl that all the boys had a crush on, the girl that put herself out for all the guys, the girl who was richer than the princess of Jordan and was more spoiled than the Kardashians. Katniss knew Glimmer and Cato had dated last year, and Cato would often admit to her that he didn't really feel that much for Glimmer, and it was more as if they were friends with benefits. The thought of Cato hooking up with this skinny, real-life Barbie doll who reeked of perfume had Katniss' stomach churning.

"Anyways," Glimmer said. "It seems like you and Cato are friends, so I'm guessing you're coming to Marvel's party tonight? Kinda like a beginning of the school year party."

Katniss shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it depends—"

"I'll definitely be there, in case you were wondering. But I'll probably be too busy with Cato, or that hottie Gale," Glimmer winked, sitting back into her seat as Ms. Trinket walked in front of the class to talk. "Or maybe both!"

Katniss restrained the urge to barf. She'd definitely be there, alright. Not to get mind-blowingly wasted or whore herself out like Glimmer. But to protect Cato. Because they were like siblings. They were like brother and sister.

Right?


	3. Chapter 3:Good Girl

**Author's Note: ** Okay guys, I am SOOOOO sorry that I didn't update sooner, my area got hit with a freak storm and my power has been out since Friday night. So basically, no power = no Internet = me chilling at the library/nearest McDonald's.

But anyways, thanks for all the favorites/reviews/etc! Keep 'em coming, haha. Also if any of you guys have any requests for songs or such, feel free to mention them because I've been juggling a few back and forth in my head but I'm not quite sure which ones to use. Also this is my first time doing the whole memory/flashback/text kinda thing, so let me know if you guys like it/if I should continue/if they're the worst things you've ever read and deserve to be deleted into the depths of cyberspace.

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW. Also I love love love love love Carrie Underwood so expect to see more of her :DDDD

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_Hey good girl,_

_With your head in the clouds_

_I bet you I can tell you what you're thinking about_

_You see a good boy,_

_Gonna give you the world_

_But he's gonna leave you crying with your heart in the dirt_

_His lips are dripping honey, but he'll sting you like a bee_

_So lock up all your lovin', go and throw away the key_

_Hey good girl,_

_Get out while you can_

_I know you think you've got a good man_

_Katniss leaned back in the lawn chair, waiting for "break" to be over so she and her best friend could go back into the pool. It wasn't fair—they could swim faster than most of the kids on their team, even the older ones, but they had to sit out during the "break" just because she was thirteen, and he was fourteen._

_ "Ew, look at them," Katniss said to Cato, gesturing at a bunch of girls who were flirting with his older brother Ryan, a lifeguard at the pool._

_ Cato shrugged. "I dunno, some of them look pretty hot."_

_ Katniss scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Please tell me you're joking."_

_ "What? I'm going into high school next year, I'm allowed to think girls are hot," Cato rolled his eyes. "Besides, you think Ryan Gosling is cute."_

_ "I think he's a cool guy," Katniss corrected. "There's a difference."_

_ Cato scoffed. "Oh please, you totally want to get into his pants."_

_ "EWWWWWWW!" Katniss screeched, slapping Cato on the arm. "THAT'S DISGUSTING!"_

_ Cato chuckled. "You are such a girl."_

_ "And you're such a guy!"_

_ "So you're never going to date anyone? Ever?"_

_ Katniss shook her head defiantly. "Nope."_

_ Cato laughed, running a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Whatever floats your boat, Catnip."_

Katniss smiled at the memories of her young self, back when she still thought boys had cooties (it wasn't her fault, her mother was very protective of her and Prim). It was then that Cato had still been his old self, a naïve and overly-eager young teen who was so excited to finally enter high school, which had been his brother's kingdom. Until Cato set foot in Panem High.

She took her phone out of her back pocket, and clicked on the messages button and began scrolling through the conversation she had had with Cato earlier.

CATO EVANS: hey

KATNISS: hey you!

CATO EVANS: don't come to the party tonight. or the game

KATNISS: why?

CATO EVANS: just cuz. u wont like it plus u wont know anyone there

KATNISS: you'll be with me though?

CATO EVANS: just don't go.

KATNISS: okay. glimmer is in my first period, she said she was gonna hook up with you

CATO EVANS: glimmer? gross, never. id rather hook up with a troll.

KATNISS: that's what I thought! well anyways youre not gonna do anything with any girls right?

CATO EVANS: never, don't worry kat

KATNISS: promise?

CATO EVANS: promise

KATNISS: alright, gtg bye

Katniss looked up from her phone and over at the events surrounding her. She was sitting on the bleachers, as a lacrosse game below her had the people around her whooping and hollering. Though Cato had told her not to come to the party nor the game, but she had insisted on attending the game—she wanted to fit in, and not be the awkward homeschooled kid everyone deemed "Cato's friend". But much to her dismay, Katniss was sitting pretty much by herself—Cato had sat next to her, but the girls from the cheerleading squad, the girls' swim team, and the dance team had grasped his attention. And the girl who was leading the Cato-worshipping party? The one and only Glimmer, wearing a tight glittery gold top that basically showed all of her cleavage and white cotton shorts that were so tiny, they look like they belonged on a Barbie doll. Katniss rolled her eyes—she remembered when Cato hadn't been so fascinated by this real life Barbie doll, this girl who basically put out for anyone and everyone. She remembered when Cato had considered the "popular girls" at Panem the lowest of the low.

_ "Hey, Cato!" Katniss ran over to the house next to hers, where her best friend was getting out, car keys in hand. "Where are you off to?"_

_ "I have a date with a girl from my school," the boy answered, running a hand through his hair and tousling it ever-so-gently._

_ "Oh," Katniss said, slightly disappointed, though she wasn't sure why. "What's her name?"_

_ "Glimmer."_

_ Katniss giggled. "Glimmer? That's a funny name."_

_ Cato shrugged his shoulders, not thinking anything of the comment. "Yeah, I guess."_

_ "Well, when are you gonna be back?"_

_ "I dunno."_

_ "Where are you guys going?"_

_ Cato walked over to his Porsche, and opened the door. "Look Katniss, I'd love to talk but I'm kinda late. And Glimmer doesn't like it when I'm late._

_ Katniss nodded slowly. "Okay. But she doesn't sound like your type of girl. She sounds too—high-maintenance."_

_ Cato chuckled, and turned on the engine. "And what exactly is my type of girl, Katniss?"_

_ Katniss bit her lip and looked down at the ground. But before she could muster the courage to tell him, he had already driven away._

"Earth to Katniss!"

Katniss whipped her head up, just realizing that while she was reminiscing, her eyes had been intently focused on her hands. "Huh?" she said, as her face came inches from Marvel's.

Marvel's lips lifted into a smirk. "Was that a sick goal or _what_?"

Katniss nodded, not exactly sure what the answer should be. "Yeah—totally sick."

"Ready to go the party?"

Katniss gulped, following Marvel off the bleachers and into the parking lot. Cato was nowhere to be found—_he must have gone early, _Katniss thought. She checked her iPhone one more time, looking at the last text Cato had sent her: _"don't come today kat..go home." _Katniss tucked the phone into her back pocket and disregarded his message.

"Yeah….I'm ready."

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The party was nothing Katniss was accustomed to. There was only one word to describe the ambience of Marvel's house in its current state—wild. Music blared, guys and girls were talking and dancing with each other while sipping an unknown drink from their red cups, and kids were jumping into the outdoor pool fully clothed (well, except for the girls, who had all somehow brought their tiny, skimpy bikinis and showed off their curves to every boy who had decided to attend the party). Food was all over the place, and drunken couples started to make their way upstairs into vacant rooms. Marvel had ditched her the minute they stepped into his house, when a swarm of people crowded around him to hail Panem's lacrosse king. And worst of all, Cato was nowhere to be found.

Katniss took a seat on one of the couches in Marvel's huge living room, trying to hide her disgust as the couple next to her started to get a little _too _physical for Katniss's taste.

"Katniss!"

Katniss looked behind her to where the voice had come from, and found Rue, who had been in Marvel's circle of friends during the introduction they had had that morning. Though Katniss had first judged Rue as one of the bubble-brained cheerleader girls she was surrounded by, after having AP Psychology and AP Government together, she quickly learned that there was she and Rue were very similar. They both had families they had to take care of, they both thought the girls in their school were complete idiots, and they both wanted to get into top schools—Rue wanted to go to Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, while Katniss wanted to go to either Yale or UPenn.

"Rue!" Katniss embrace the girl in a hug. "You don't know how relieved I am to see you, I don't know anyone!"

Rue's eyes had a hint of nervousness in them as she smiled at Katniss. "What are you doing here? I heard you weren't coming."

"Well, I decided to come," Katniss said. "Do you happen to know where Cato is? I've been looking for him _everywhere."_

Rue shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she leaned on her right leg. "Katniss, I think you should go."

Katniss raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

Rue bit her lip. "Katniss—Cato's um, Cato's…."

Katniss turned away from Rue, not wanting to hear the rest. It couldn't be true—it couldn't. Cato wouldn't do this to her. Cato promised her that he wouldn't do something like this, especially this close to her. She bolted upstairs and swung open the door, and her heart sank into the pits of her stomach as she saw a shirtless Cato—her best friend, her next-door neighbor—in a compromising position with Glimmer, who wore only a black lace bra and panties.

"Katniss?" Cato yelped as he jumped at least two feet in the air and off of Glimmer.

Katniss looked at Cato, then Glimmer, then Cato again. Before she could let the tears in her eyes fall, before she could let Cato and his stupid whore see her cry, she slammed the door shut and ran back downstairs and out the door, and sprinted all the way home.


	4. Chapter 4: Should've Said No

**Author's Note: ** I'M SORRY I CANT CRANK THESE OUT FASTER, I HAVE NO POWER AND ITS ALMOST BEEN 100 HOURS WITHOUT POWER IN MY HOME. Like legitimately I've been at the nearest Barnes & Noble drinking some Starbucks for the past four hours…..for those of you who do not live in the DC Metropolitan area, consider yourselves lucky. Unless you live in like Tornado Alley, in which case WHY DO YOU LIVE THERE?

Sorry if these next few chapters suck, I'm kinda in a rush! But yeahhhh. Keep the reviews coming! IF I HIT 60 REVIEWS BY TOMORROW I promise I will upload TWO chapters in the next three days!

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW.

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_You should've said no,_

_You should've gone home,_

_You should've thought twice before you let it all go._

_You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her would get back to me._

_And I should've been there, in the back of your mind,_

_Shouldn't be asking myself why,_

_You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet._

_You should've said no,_

_Baby and you might still have me._

_ Buzzzzz. Buzzzzz._

Katniss woke up to the sound of her vibrating iPhone on her bedside table. She picked it up groggily and answered it. "Hello?"

"Am I picking you up today?"

Katniss rubbed her eyes tiredly. She had cried herself to sleep, only to wake up with puffy, swollen eyes and a massive headache. "What? Who is this?"

"Cato…" the voice from the phone answered.

At the sound of his name, Katniss completely jolted out of her grogginess. She ran out to her window and saw Cato's Porsche (well, it was his brother's, but he drove it instead of the Jeep when he wanted to impress) waiting in the driveway, the driver donning a blue button-down, khaki shorts, and Rainbow flipflops. _Crap, _Katniss thought. She was unbelievably upset at Cato, but she needed a ride to school. "I'll be down in a minute."

Katniss threw on a mint sleeveless, collared button-down shirt and white high-waisted shorts, grabbed her backpack, stuck her feet in her Rainbow flipflops, and sprinted out the door. She hated seeing Cato—the sight of him disgusted her, especially when she thought of the things him and Glimmer were doing the night before.

"Tough night of sleep, princess?" Cato joked playfully as he started to pull out of the driveway.

Fixing her hair into a braid, Katniss gave her best friend (well, now _ex-_best friend) a deadly glare. "Don't talk to me."

Cato sighed, and cranked up the radio. "Look, Katniss, I'm sorry about last night. You know how I can get and that's why I warned you to not come—"

"Or did you tell me not to come so you could hook up with every girl there without me finding out?" Katniss snapped, her willpower to ignore the boy quickly disappearing.

Anger flashed in Cato's blue eyes, but they were soon replaced with a hint of sadness. "Do you really think I'd do something like that, Katniss?"

"I don't know what to think anymore."

Cato fixed his eyes on the road as an awkward silence consumed the two friends. After about a minute or two had passed, he finally spoke up again. "You know I can get like that, Katniss. It's in my nature."

Katniss scoffed, anger and hatred burning in her heart and in her eyes. "Is that supposed to be some kind of pathetic _excuse_?"

The two kept arguing for the duration of the car ride, Cato growing increasingly more frustrated about Katniss's reaction and Katniss becoming angrier by the minute at Cato's remorse—or rather, lack thereof. As they both spat out their words and opinions, Cato started to push harder on the acceleration pedal, and the Porsche was soon driving way over the speed limit. The only thing that didn't keep escalating was the sound of _Springsteen _blaring from the car's speakers, but this was not even close to the environment in which Cato and Katniss would sing along to Eric Church's famous tune.

"I don't know why you're acting like this, I don't need your permission for everything I do!"

"Because you promised you wouldn't do anything like this!"

Cato laughed, a villainous persona consuming him as he ran a stop sign and a red traffic light.. "Do what? Hook up with whoever I want? It's my life, I can do whatever the fuck I want!"

Katniss glared at the boy. "You _sound_ like a little kid right now."

"Well you're acting like a little kid right now!"

Katniss' nostrils flared and her grey eyes filled with an angry darkness. "When did you turn into such an asshole? Why can't you ever respect my feelings?"

Cato slammed his fist on the dashboard, leaving a slight dent. "I did respect your feelings! I told you not to come so you wouldn't have to deal with that or see that!"

"No, you just wanted to hide it from me!"

"I did not! I was looking out for you!"

"If you were looking out for me, you wouldn't have done it! Seriously, you can't not have sex with every girl you see for a few days or weeks?

"Well it's not MY fault you're fucking in love with me! Get over it!"

Katniss sat in her seat, stunned. Though she had had a rebuttal for the boy who she now hated with a fiery, burning passion, his newest remark had caught her off-guard. Instead, she slunk back into her seat and stared out the window, trying to refrain from allowing the prickling tears that were forming in the back of her eyes to fall. Was she in love with him? She wasn't sure. But the way he had said it, the way he had acted like she was smitten with him and he didn't give a care in the world, shattered her heart. And when he pulled into the school parking lot, she grabbed her backpack and dashed out of the car, never looking back at him. At Cato.

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"Hey, Kat! Over here!"

Katniss stood with her brown lunch bag in hand, trying to find an empty seat in the crowded cafeteria. So far, the day had been a drag—having to inhale Glimmer's disgusting perfume every second in AP Lang was awful, Calculus had been dreadful (Katniss hated math—it was boring, no matter how good she was at it), and Physics was just confusing and hurt her brain. _It can only get better_, Katniss thought to herself. Next would be AP Gov and AP Psych with Rue. _At least I'll be able to talk to someone._

"Kat! I said, over here!"

Katniss looked around the cafeteria to find where the voice was coming from. She spotted Rue sitting in the center table—the cleanest, too. She had Glimmer sitting across from her, who was sitting next to Cato and messing around with his hair as he had his eyes focused on his black iPhone. School president Finnick Odair and his girlfriend, Annie Cresta, sat next to Cato. Gale Hawthorne and Marvel sat together, and were both admiring Marvel's newest customized lacrosse stick. The only seat left was between Marvel and Rue, which was directly across from Cato and his disgusting, blonde whore.

Taking a deep breath, Katniss walked over to the direction of the table. She could feel eyes from the other students in the room on her—it was an honor to sit at the table where all of the "popular" kids sat. Though she had only been at Panem High for two days, it was obvious that everyone was either in admiration or fear of Cato and his crew.

"Hey, nerd, haven't seen you in a while," Cato remarked as Katniss sat down. She ignored the comment, and as she grabbed an apple from her bag and bit into it, turned and faced Marvel.

"Awesome party last night—really nice way to welcome me into Panem!" Katniss exclaimed.

Marvel shrugged the compliment off and cradled the lacrosse stick—his baby—twice. "No biggie. Glad you enjoyed it. I didn't see you around, though."

Katniss nodded. "Yeah, I got sick after watching some—" she glared at Glimmer. "Unhygienic events going on."

Marvel raised an eyebrow, starting to realize Katniss's pure hatred—perhaps even jealousy—towards Glimmer.

"I hear you're a star student," Finnick piped up, his bronze hair and tan skin complimenting his bright white smile perfectly. "Everyone says you're really smart."

"She _is_," Rue butted in. "In AP Psych, she corrected Mason!"

"_Johanna_ Mason?" Cato inquired, his eyes leaving his phone for the first time during the entire conversation. "Damn, she's a tough one to crack. Nice going, nerd."

Finnick nodded in agreement, and snaked an arm around Annie's waist, and Katniss couldn't help but admire how perfect the couple was. Both of them were simply stunning—Annie's auburn hair fell in waves down her back, and her startlingly blue eyes complemented Finnick's incredible sea-green ones. They were both undoubtedly the most beautiful couple at Panem High, and were both very talented—Finnick juggled being student body president, a star swimmer (not as fast as Cato, however), and captain of the soccer team, and Annie was an extremely gifted painter and her works were featured all along the school walls. Though Annie was significantly shyer in comparison to Finnick's outgoing, charismatic personality, the two fit each other perfectly.

"Thanks," Katniss answered nonchalantly. Though she was still pissed as hell at Cato, she didn't want anyone else to know that she was irked by Cato and Glimmer's fling. Otherwise, they might speculate—and gossip. Even without going to public school her entire life, Katniss knew that if one thing could make or break your life in high school, it was gossip and the rumor mill.

Marvel elbowed Katniss lightly. "So, Kat, you thinking about doing any sports? The girls' lacrosse team needs a new goalie. And my team hangs out with the girls' team _all_ the time."

Katniss glanced over at Cato, saw that he was shooting Marvel a death glare, and was instantly pleased. "Oh, I don't know. When does it start? I'm more of a water sports kind of girl."

"Katniss is obviously going to join the swim team," Gale chimed in, his friendly attitude putting Katniss at ease. "She's been swimming with me and Cato since we were little."

"Well, lacrosse is in the spring," Marvel winked. "And swim is in the winter. I'm sure you could balance those things."

Katniss nodded. "Yeah, I might try that out," she answered, looking at Cato from the corner of her eye. She could tell that he was more than just pissed—his nostrils were flared, his eyes an icy blue. Katniss had only seen Cato this mad a few times, usually when someone severely insulted him or the people he cared about—or when a girl he really liked rejected him.

"OH, SHIT!" Katniss heard Rue exclaim next to her, as the girl jumped out of her seat and grabbed her backpack. "I was supposed to interview Thresh about Nationals today!"

Rue sprinted out of the cafeteria, completely ignoring the people she ran past and the lunches she knocked over.

"Who's Thresh?" Katniss inquired, taking her brown hair out of her signature side-braid and shaking it loose.

"Rue's cousin," Gale answered, picking up a handful of French fries from his pink lunch tray and tossing them in his mouth. "He's captain of the crew team, he's ripped as hell. His boat is amazing, they're first in the nation and they've always won—Stotes, Nationals, States—you name it, he's won it."

Katniss was impressed. "So, are any of you guys doing anything after school?"

"I have lacrosse practice," Marvel replied with dismay. "But you're welcome to stay after and watch. Off-season, but I'm still pretty handy with my skills," he winked.

"Ew!" Glimmer shrieked, causing the entire table to stare at her. "There's like, a colony of ants on my French fries!"

Cato picked up the fry to examine it. "That's pepper, Glimmer."

Glimmer took the tray and dumped it in a nearby trashcan. "Whatever. I'm done eating."

Katniss couldn't believe what had just happened—Glimmer was the brattiest, stupidest, sluttiest person she'd ever encountered. Everything Cato had said about her was right—except now Cato was just as smitten with her as he had been two years ago, when he had gone on that first date with Glimmer. That day when Katniss had almost told him the feelings that she had for him—whatever, that was in the past. She hated Cato now, and for all she cared, he could go hook up with Glimmer and Katniss would be glad to see them both featured on _Teen Mom _in about a year.

The bell interrupted Katniss from her thoughts, as the enormous amount of students congregated in the cafeteria all suddenly began to pack up their things and head out the double doors and into their 4th period classrooms.

Katniss quickly said goodbyes to her new lunchmates, and exchanged phone numbers with Marvel—she would need some more friends at Panem now that Cato was dead to her, and Marvel, Gale, and Rue seemed pretty cool.

Making her way to AP Government, Katniss was completely lost. She'd tried to take the same path that she had gone on the day before when she had had the school map in her hands, but she didn't have the map with her today and she couldn't differentiate between the hallways. She was looking all around the walls for some familiar signs and running through the halls when she ran smack into someone, dropping the textbooks she had been carrying, and a pencil case.

"Sorry!" she heard a familiar voice exclaim as both teens dropped to the floor onto their knees, scrambling to pick up the stray books and pencils.

Katniss looked at the boy who she had just crashed into. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a fit physique that wasn't as tall or ripped as Cato, Gale, or Finnick but still well-conditioned—"Peeta?"

"Oh, hey, Katniss!" the boy smiled. "I heard you were coming to Panem."

"Yeah," Katniss replied. "Nice seeing you, I haven't seen you at all!"

Peeta shrugged, passing Katniss one of her dropped textbooks. "I've been busy with wrestling and helping with the bakery."

Katniss nodded. Peeta's family owned the finest, most extravagant, most delicious bakery in town, and ever since they were young, Peeta had often skipped class or extracurricular activities to help bake—but he had a knack for it.

"Who are you hanging out with then? Cato, I'm assuming?" Peeta said as they both got onto their feet.

"Kind of," Katniss answered, not fully telling the truth. "I've met him and his friends."

Peeta chuckled. "Well, I dunno, I hear a lot of things from the guys on the wrestling team about the new girl nerd. Should've figured it was you."

Katniss blushed. Though she and Peeta had never been very close and were more casual acquaintances compared to her and Cato, they had both swum together as children and he had always been able to make her smile with his witty humor or generous compliments.

Peeta looked at the watch around his wrist. "I should probably go, I'm kinda late to class."

Katniss nodded, before realizing that she didn't know where to go. "Wait, can you help me find AP Gov with Mr. Zack? I went there yesterday, but now I'm totally lost."

"Yeah, totally," Peeta grinned. "I'm on my way to Econ and they're in the same hallway."

Katniss breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks so much."

"No problem, it's the least I could do."

Katniss smiled—one of the only real smiles she had had during her first two days at Panem—and began to walk along with the boy as they started to talk about her time so far at school, his wrestling matches, the bakery, and their childhood memories together. Little did they know that they had walked straight past the swim team trophy case that a particular sandy blonde-haired swimmer had been leaning against, listening to the entire conversation between the two. And he especially was not too fond of this newfound friendship between Katniss Everdeen and the boy with the bread, Peeta Mellark.


	5. Chapter 5: You Don't Know Her Like I Do

**Author's Note: ** Wow, I didn't think it would actually happen but I guess I have to start writing down and cranking out some more chapters! I'm honestly so flattered that you guys love the story, the majority of my summer has consisted of swim team and planning out this story hahaha.

I hope these chapters are okay, I'd feel terrible if I hyped them up and then you guys read them and were like BOO THEY SUCK…but yeah! I'll be updating the chapter after this very soon so be aware of that! This chapter kinda throws some Peeta background in there (hardcore Catoniss fans may not be too pleased of what happens in this chapter, just a warning!)

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW (:

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_You don't know her like I do_

_You'll never understand,_

_You don't know what we've been through_

_That girl's my best friend._

_And there's no way you're gonna help me,_

_She's the only one who can_

_No, you don't know how much I've got to lose_

_You don't know her like I do._

A very frustrated Cato Evans stormed down the hallway and stopped at the white door at the end of it. With one fist, he punched the door, causing it to swing open and leave his younger sister Clove incredibly startled.

"Tell me all you know about Peeta Mellark," Cato snarled at his little sister as he entered the room. Though he and Clove had a pretty stable relationship, when either one of them wanted something really badly, the other could usually be in trouble.

Clove, who was a junior at Panem, glared defiantly at her brother. "Do you ever bother knocking?"

Cato punched his fist into the wall, leaving a dent only about a foot away from where Clove was. Most girls Clove's age would have probably started screaming, crying, or running away, but Clove was an Evans. And being an Evans meant being the best, being tough. So when her brother displayed his anger in violent acts, Clove acted nonchalantly. "You're paying for that."

Cato grunted, and Clove almost started to laugh at her brother's ridiculousness. "This is about Katniss, isn't it?"

"How'd you know?" Cato's eyes softened, though his voice was still harsh and his stance was still intimidating as ever.

Clove shrugged, her hands flying up to her ponytail to tighten it. "Word gets around."

Cato raised an eyebrow. "Katniss doesn't _talk _to anyone outside of my circle of friends."

"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Popular," Clove teased. "Katniss and Peeta have now become the greatest of friends. Peeta's on the wrestling team—who used to be the manager of the wrestling team?"

"You," Cato answered.

Clove nodded, feeling like she was dealing with an over-temperamental kindergartner. "Yeah. And according to people from the wrestling team, Katniss got a ride home from Peeta today. I wonder where you were."

"I had practice," Cato lied as he began pacing around the room.

Clove rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Cato? Do you think I'm an idiot? You're in a _winter _sport. And your club practices are in the morning, dumbass. If you're going to come up with an excuse, try to make it somewhat believable."

Cato narrowed his eyes at Clove. "Shut up and tell me what you know."

Clove debated the thought for a second. "For what?"

"I dunno, just whatever. Come on, Clove! Stop messing around."

Clove laughed. She loved having power over her brother—if there was anything that aggravated him the most, it was being the weak one, the submissive one. Being an Evans, being the younger sister of Ryan and Cato Evans, being the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in town had formed Clove into a teenage girl who knew not to take anything for granted, and who knew how to manipulate anyone into getting her way. It was sadistic, really. But that's who Clove was.

"If I tell you what I know, then you have to tell Katniss how you really feel about her."

Cato stopped dead in his tracks and stared at his sister. _She really is my little sister, of course she'd tell me to do the worst thing possible. _"I can't."

"Too chicken?" Clove teased her brother. Although they were physically completely opposite—she had a small frame, dark brown hair, and dark eyes compared to his whole Greek god appearance—they pretty much had the same personality. The siblings were manipulative, and scary. Cato altered that though, and used his charisma to attract girls and popularity like their older brother Ryan had before him. Clove remained hidden, only having a small circle of friends—it was much scarier when a small-figured girl could do the things her brothers could. Clove was on the archery team, the rifle team, basically any sport where she could "accidentally" shoot someone's head off. She liked that kind of stuff. Varsity swimming and cheerleading and lacrosse and all those other sports the "popular" kids did that Cato hung out with? Please. Clove didn't need that kind of stuff.

"No, it's just—"

Clove sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Let me guess. You're afraid that Katniss is falling for Peeta or one of the guys, you think if you tell her that you've liked her since you were thirteen, she won't feel the same way. Seriously, Cato, are you a girl?"

Cato slunked onto Clove's bed, lying down and pressing a pillow against his head before sitting back up. "It's not that."

"Really? Because I've lived with you my whole life, Cato, and I think that's your problem. I have some tampons in the bathroom if you want them."

Cato groaned. "Shut _up, _Clove! I _know _she likes me back."

"So what's the problem?"

Cato shrugged. "I don't know, you know how I am! I like Katniss, but sometimes I slip and I fuck other girls and shit like that. But at the end of the day, I like Katniss. You know?"

His younger sister shook her head in disapproval. "I hate playing Dr. Phil, but if you really like her, wouldn't you not do those kinds of things?"

"Well I can't help that I have a penis! I have _needs_!"

Clove scrunched up her face. "Uh, ew. Well, you might as well start acting like it because all this romance talk makes you sound like you have a vagina."

"And Peeta, remember how him and Katniss used to be friends back in like elementary and middle school? Like _really _good friends?"

Clove nodded, remembering their childhood. Though Katniss and Cato had been the best of friends, Cato had started to become increasingly more protective of the girl and had started to feel more hatred and jealousy towards Peeta, another swimmer boy who Katniss had befriended. "Is that why you-?"

"I don't like to think about that, you know that," Cato responded quickly. "I feel bad."

Clove sighed. "Yeah, you should. Dick move, Cato. Really, you need to stop doing that."

Cato ran his fingers through his hair. "I know."

"Well, if it makes you any happier, though I'm pretty sure it won't," Clove began, bracing her for any emotion that might come out of her older brother. "There is some news about Peeta and Katniss. He drove her home, and you know how much Prim loves him. So he spent some time there, and I think he might genuinely be falling for her. Again, I suppose. But you know, he has you to fear and remember what happened last time—"

Cato growled, signaling for his sister to stop.

"Whatever. So yeah, that's what I know about Mellark. I have homework to do, can you have a therapy session with Ryan or something? Seriously, you two are like two overly hormonal pregnant women. Yesterday he tried Skyping me from college to get advice on girls and now you—am I the only one with balls around here?"

Cato smirked, and walked soundlessly towards the door. "Thanks," he mumbled, trying to wrap his brain around what Clove had told him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Clove said. "And Cato?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything stupid like that again. And most importantly, don't hurt Katniss."

Cato nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

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_Buzz. Buzz._

Katniss took her vibrating iPhone out of her wristlet, looking at the newest text message she had just received. "CATO EVANS", the screen had read. Sighing, she stuffed the phone back into the wristlet and tossed it onto a chair.

"Who was that?" Peeta Mellark asked, taking a seat next to Katniss on her bed. He had given her a ride home, and had stayed to play with Katniss's younger sister Prim and her cat, Buttercup. Afterwards, her mother had invited the boy to stay for dinner, and now he was just talking with Katniss in her room.

"Cato Evans," Katniss replied with no specific tone or emotion in her voice.

Peeta nodded. "Right."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows together. "How come you don't hang out with them at school? You used to all the time. Like you don't even eat lunch or anything with them!"

"Hang out with whom?"

"Cato and Gale," Katniss replied. "You guys were all on the same relay for the longest time, or at least until you quit swimming! The All-Star relay, if I remember correctly. You guys would always tease me and Delly and Marge and Clove and say that we weren't nearly as fast as you guys. Why'd

Peeta shrugged, and combed his hair with his fingers so his blonde lockers weren't so heavily in his face. "There's a lot you missed out on because you were homeschooled, Katniss."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Katniss remarked. "I feel like everyone knows everyone, and I'm just sticking out like a sore thumb. But really, did something happen?"

Peeta sighed. "I don't really think I should tell you."

Katniss stared for a few seconds at her friend, the one who wasn't nearly as charismatic or popular as Cato but was honest, sincere, and had a good heart. He was staring down at his hands, and fiddling his thumbs. "I can keep a secret."

"Alright," Peeta began. "So, I used to like this girl."

Katniss nodded, urging him to go on. "Okay…."

"And Cato liked the same girl. Except the girl didn't know that, okay?"

Katniss nodded again, fiddling with her signature side braid. If Peeta was going to take this long in telling the story, they would be 70 by the time he was done.

"So Cato did everything to humiliate me when the girl wouldn't know. Because, you see, the girl didn't really hang out with me and Cato sometimes, and so Cato made up all these rumors about me and would constantly torment me—pushing me into lockers, throwing me in the dumpster."

Katniss sat on her bed in disbelief, her jaw open. "Cato _Evans _did that? No way. Cato would never do that."

Peeta shrugged off the comment. "Well, eventually it got so bad that I kept myself hidden. So I joined the wrestling team. Quit swimming. Hung out with the guys on the wrestling team almost all of the time, which is where everyone came up with the notion that I was gay."

"Oh yeah," Katniss added. "I heard about that."

"Right."

Katniss put her hand to her mouth. "Oops, sorry. Continue."

Peeta put his hand up to his head again, ruffling his hair one more time. "So, basically, that was it. Cato couldn't do anything like that in _front _of the girl because he didn't want her to think he was an asshole."

"But he was!" Katniss exclaimed, sudden rage overcoming her. "I don't know what I was thinking, I've been friends with this monster this entire time! I can't believe he did that to you!"

Peeta smiled softly at Katniss. "I'm kinda over it now."

"You shouldn't be! You should go beat him up or something!"

Peeta laughed at the idea. A boy like Peeta, someone who had once been the laughingstock of Panem, going up against a giant like Cato? It would be like David and Goliath—except David wouldn't win.

"Peeta?"

"Hmm?"

Katniss bit her lip. "Who was the girl? I can't believe I didn't hear about this, Cato told me everything. Or at least I _thought _he did."

Peeta looked straight into Katniss's eyes, his friendly blue eyes meeting her grey ones. He smiled at the girl who was so naïve, who hadn't known the past.

"Katniss," he said softly. "That girl was you."


	6. Chapter 6: Mary's Song Oh, My My My

**Author's Note: ** I'm so sorry I didn't get this up earlier, but I have been sooooo busy! However this is the third day, so I am fulfilling my promise! I just started taking a summer course (to fulfill a requirement, because my school is weird and there are a crap ton of requirements that you can't fulfill with a regular 7 period schedule without foregoing all of your elective classes (and who wants to do that?)

So this chapter is going to be a little shorter—but it has some memories and stuff like I used in Chapter 4. Oh, I just came back from a swim meet, and I got first in breaststroke and butterfly and second in freestyle! Aww yeah. Future Cato's wife right here. ;)

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW (:

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_Take me back to the house in the backyard tree_

_Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me_

_You never did, you never did_

_Take me back when our world was one block wide_

_I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried_

_Just two kids, you and I_

_Oh, my, my, my, my_

_Well, I was sixteen when suddenly_

_I wasn't that little girl you used to see_

_But your eyes still shined, like pretty lights_

_And our daddies used to joke about the two of us_

_They never believed we'd really fall in love_

_And our mamas smiled, and rolled their eyes_

_And said oh, my, my, my._

Katniss sat on her bed, puzzled by what had just unfolded in front of her eyes. How could she have been so blind to see it? Both Cato and Peeta had liked her…but to what extent? For how long? How could she have missed those signs? Why didn't she do anything before it was too late?

_Shut up_, Katniss thought to herself. _You sound like some stupid teenage girl on some stupid television show, getting all upset about two guys having liked her in the past. Romance isn't for you. Don't get involved in it._

She looked up, and saw Peeta staring at her, not saying a word. She'd been quite startled when she first saw him, as she had completely forgotten that he was there for a minute.

"I think I should leave," Peeta murmured, getting up and walking towards the door. "Text me, alright?"

Katniss nodded, her mind still somewhat of a blur. "Yeah, no problem."

After seeing Peeta pull out of her driveway and onto the street from her window, Katniss grabbed the CDs and photo albums that she'd kept tucked away under her bed for the longest time. They were full of childhood memories—a compilation her dad and mom had created for her, so she could remember everything, the good and the bad (but mostly the good), from her younger years. She hadn't watched the videos or looked at the photographs for the longest time—they were just gathering dust now, sitting under her bed, another long-forgotten childhood treasure.

Katniss took the first CD, labeled "Katniss's tenth birthday," and put it in her computer to watch. Immediately, the colorful decorations and plants her father had gathered for the celebration captured the screen—it was a party that had made all the other girls of District 12 jealous.

_"Cato, stop chasing me!" _Katniss heard the younger version of herself shriek as young Katniss ran through the party, donning a party hat on her head and sporting her signature braid.

_"I'm coming after you, Kat!"_

_ "Stop it! Stop it!"_

Katniss laughed at her mini-me, and at the same time, she could hear her dad's deep voice chuckle at the two children.

_"I'm gonna get you, Kat! I'm older and bigger and faster than you!"_

_ "You're only eleven! I'm ten! That's only one year, dumbo!"_

_ "I'm coming to get you!"_

Katniss found herself smiling again at the two squealing, screaming, running children, forgetting almost completely about the situation with the current day Cato and Peeta. How joyous her childhood had been, when her father had completely adored her, and she had a best friend who could make her laugh, shriek, and smile more than anyone else.

Suddenly, Katniss heard a knock at the door. Thinking it was her sister, Prim, probably asking for help about homework, she called out for them to come in.

It wasn't Prim.

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Katniss stared blankly at the boy, not sure what to feel. She just knew that she felt some kind of emotion—she was angry, for what he had done to Peeta. Flattered, that he had liked her that much. Hopeful, thinking of their long-lasting friendship and what it could become during their life at Panem.

But those conflicted feelings all went away and were replaced by heartbreak upon her recalling the situation that she had found him and Glimmer in not too long ago.

"What are you doing here?" Katniss asked coolly, forcing herself not to look into Cato's eyes.

Looking nervous, Cato ran his fingers through his hair. "Uhh, I think I might have left something here from two weeks ago."

Katniss glared at Cato, now directly looking into his blue eyes. "You never came to my house two weeks ago, Evans."

Cato sighed. Katniss sometimes got like this when she was mad—she didn't call people by their first names, but rather by their last names. Cato usually thought it was cute when she would do it to people like Gale, but not now, not when Katniss looked beyond pissed at him.

"Look, Katniss," Cato began, ignoring the urge to just run. _Remember what Clove said, _Cato thought to himself as words of encouragement. "We have to talk."

"Save it," Katniss rolled her eyes. "I know what you did, Cato."

Cato raised an eyebrow, completely confused. "What?"

Katniss laughed a slightly demoniacal laugh that eerily resembled the one that Clove used almost every single day. "You didn't think I would find out what a lying, douche scumbag you were? Everything you did because you thought that I would never find out because I was homeschooled? What you did to Peeta? How you tormented him and tortured him because you liked me and didn't have the _guts _to actually tell me?"

Cato stood in the doorway, completely and utterly stunned. He had not expected this—he'd expected that he would go to Katniss's house, reveal his feelings, and then they would get together. Maybe hook up. Whatever, something along those lines. But not this.

Katniss stared at Cato. "WELL? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Look," Cato said, walking towards Katniss and sitting down next to her on the bed. Unfortunately, she jumped five feet away from him to the other side of the bed and gave him a death glare. He took a deep breath, bracing himself. "I know what I did was wrong. Trust me, I know. But I'm not that guy anymore, Katniss. And I don't know how you found out about my reasons for doing it, but I was just stupid. And I guess I was just chicken. And I really do like you, Katniss. I know I don't act like it sometimes and I know that you got really hurt about Glimmer but I do a lot of stupid things and make a lot of mistakes, Katniss. But I know that you're not a mistake. And I've liked you since I was really young and I would always doubt myself, but I think it's worth a chance. I think we're worth a chance."

Cato closed his eyes and took another deep breath, expecting Katniss to forgive him and hug him and tell him that she had felt the same way her entire life.

But she didn't.


	7. Chapter 7: Watching Airplanes

**Author's Note: ** I'm sorry I haven't been here in like five weeks AHHHHHHHH! I've been really busy, my best friend's family took me on a three-week long surprise beach vacation, and I just finished up a week-long internship/program thing. So yeah. I'M SO SORRY AND THIS CHAPTER IS REALLY SHORT BUT ILL MAKE UP FOR IT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS

PS this chapter was co-written with me by my best friend (a guy, who has been helping me along the way with characterizing Cato). This chapter is pretty short because we wrote it while driving to an amusement park, haha. I begged him to write a chapter with me because he's a fantastic writer and a really cool guy so you guys should totes convince him to start his own stories! Also Watching Airplanes is his favorite song of all time (:

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW (:

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_I would've lied, could've cried_

_Should've tried harder_

_Done anything to make you stay_

_I wonder what you'd do if you looked out your window_

_And saw me runnin' down the runway just like I was crazy_

_But that fence is too high_

_So am I_

_So I'm just sittin' out here watchin' airplanes_

_Take off and fly_

_Tryin' to figure out which one you might be on_

_And why you don't love me anymore_

Cato blinked his eyes. Once. Twice. Three times.

Katniss still looked angry—did he say something wrong? Cato couldn't tell if Katniss was just joking and pulling a prank on him, or if she was actually really mad at him, even though he had given the most sincere (and honest!) apology of his life. She kept glaring at him, and Cato couldn't help but pull his eyes away and stare at the floor uncomfortably.

Nervousness, awkwardness and silence consumed the two as thoughts floated through their heads.

_He said he likes you, _a voice in Katniss's mind said. _And you like him too. You've waited this long, you guys were meant to be and you know it._

At the same time, another voice in her head disagreed. _You know what he did to Peeta, and that was just wrong. And what's going to stop him from hooking up with Glimmer behind your back?_

Katniss shut her eyes, trying to empty her brain. She couldn't make up her mind. She knew she had feelings for him, it wasn't that. It was whether she trusted him or not. After hearing Peeta's account of everything that Cato had done to him prior to Katniss's enrollment at the school, Katniss didn't know what to think of Cato anymore. Was he still the boy who she belted out country music with every day at swim practice, and listened to WMZQ (the country music radio station) every day in his Jeep truck? Or was he the boy who would drive his older brother's Porsche to impress that stuck-up slut Glimmer? And then there was the matter of if Katniss really liked him as much as he had said he liked her—

"Kat?" Cato asked softly, wringing his huge hands and then using one to comb through his hair. "Are you gonna say anything?"

Katniss sighed. Maybe she should just run. Run away from Cato, from Glimmer, from Marvel, from Peeta. Just run away, and be homeschooled again.

Unfortunately, it wasn't an option at this point.

Katniss took a deep breath and made eye contact with the boy. "Look, Cato," she started slowly before she started rambling and said things she didn't mean—or rather, didn't want to say. "I'm…flattered, but, um…I…"

_Make up an excuse, _Katniss thought to herself. _Make something up, stupid._

"I think we're better off as friends," she blurted out, mentally slapping herself immediately after the words were spoken.

_Oh no, _she thought. _Am I leading him on then? Will he think that I actually like him? Should I tell him that I think he's a lying douchebag? No, no, that'll just make him angry. He's your friend, remember? Ugh, why is this so freaking complicated?! Dating sucks!_

The hope that had shined in Cato's blue eyes became evanescent. Just like that, his eyes saddened, and he felt like he'd been punched in the gut by someone twice the size of him. He didn't know what rejection felt like—no one rejected Cato Evans.

_Friends?_ Cato thought. _What do you mean, 'friends'? Friends like just acquaintances? Friends like how we normally acted? Friends with benefits? What the fuck does that even mean?! Jesus Christ, Katniss, could you be any more confusing?_

Instead of sharing his thoughts, he just uttered, "Oh".

Katniss nodded slowly. "So….."

"I should probably make my way out, shouldn't I?" Cato asked sheepishly, trying to act normal, as if her decision didn't bother him.

Katniss nodded again. "Yeah. We're cool though, right? Everything's okay?"

Cato flashed his signature smirk. "Yeah, Catnip."

But as he made his way out, Cato knew he was lying. It wasn't cool. He wasn't okay. _Nothing _was okay. He knew one thing for certain, though: he'd get Katniss, sooner or later. He just needed to show her that she needed him.

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_Buzz. Buzz._

"Hello?" Katniss picked up the vibrating phone from her bedside table and put it to her ear. _Gale, _the phone had read. "Gale, why are you calling me? It's 1 in the morning, and we have school tomorrow."

"Geez, Kat, you go to sleep awfully late for a nerd," Gale teased from the other end of the line, his voice indicating that he was wide awake and didn't have any intentions of going to sleep anytime soon.

Katniss groaned, rubbing her eyes. "What do you want, Gale?"

"I wanna know what happened between you and Cato," Gale answered, his voice somewhat solemn now. "Seriously, what the fuck happened?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

Gale chuckled. "Well, Cato seems to not be coping with it very well. Him and the other guys are crashing at my house today."

Katniss was slightly taken aback. They were staying at Gale's house? On a school night? Was this a daily occurrence? Was this normal for high school students at Panem?

"What'd he tell you?" Katniss gulped."

At the other end of the line, Gale looked at the group of guys who had congregated around the phone, and were eagerly waiting Katniss's reply. Unbeknownst to Katniss, the sixteen-year-old girl was on speaker phone and it wasn't just Gale who could hear her words, but also his closest friends—Finnick Odair, Marvel Furst, and of course, Cato Evans. "Just stuff. Come on, Katniss, you can trust me, we've been best friends since we were what? Eight years old?"

Katniss contemplated the thought. "Can the other guys hear me?"

Gale looked at Marvel, who was shaking his head at him. He looked at Finnick, who was doing the same and mouthing the word "no", and lastly, he looked at Cato, whose gaze was fixed at the ground. "Er, no?"

Katniss took a breath. "Okay, well, Cato basically came into my room and started telling me how much he loved me and stuff and it just happened out of nowhere," she rambled. "I'm not exactly sure why he said it—I don't know whether to take him seriously or not."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I don't know if he's being real or not or if he's just trying to pull one over on me!"

"Okay, I don't understand. Explain."

"Like I don't know if he's just trying to be nice so he can get in my pants, just like the rest of the girls at Panem!"

"WHAT?!"

Gale paused on his end of the line, as did Katniss, who dropped her phone on the bed in shock. Neither of them had been the one who had exclaimed—in fact, it had been a now wide-eyed Cato, whose mouth was now covered by Finnick's hand.

Thoughts swirled around in Katniss's mind until she fully realized and understood what had been going on. The entire group had called Katniss and was listening in on the conversation, and she'd thought she was just talking to someone as a friend—someone she could trust. Katniss felt tears prick at the back of her eyes, threatening to spill over at any minute. She felt hurt—she felt betrayed.

After what seemed like centuries, Katniss heard Gale's voice pipe up again. "Kat, you there?"

Katniss sat silently, unsure of how to respond. What was she supposed to do? Act like she hadn't heard Cato? Act like she was completely in love with Cato? Act like she hated Cato? Wasn't his entrance into her home earlier that day enough?

"Look. Tell Cato I'm not interested," Katniss picked up her phone and responded. "Even if he hadn't done all of those things to Peeta, he's spying on me, lying, and even getting you guys to lie to me. That's not the Cato I knew before, and maybe I was stupid earlier and didn't see what a jerk he'd become. But I have no interest in even restoring that friendship that I'd had with him, let alone date him." She breathed a sigh of relief, only to have nerves and worry attack her after no one was responding on the other end. "Gale? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, uh, Katniss. I'll—I'll call you back sometime later, okay? Sorry we did this to you."

Katniss was met with the sound of a dead tone ringing in her ear. She shut the phone off and buried herself under the covers of her bed, relying on it as a safe haven from all this teenage drama. She wasn't really sure what to do anymore—she'd cut off her friendship with Cato, which meant that she wouldn't really be able to hang out with the other guys, either. Maybe she could hang out with Rue. Oh, and Peeta. Of course, there would always be Peeta.

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	8. Chapter 8: Don't Think I Don't Think

**Author's Note: ** I'm sorry I haven't been here in MONTHS! Junior year is torturous on the soul, it really is. So the time that I actually get to spend on this story is few and far between. I promise I'm continuing the story, it's just that I don't have a lot of time—for those of you not in the states, junior year is super important because colleges really look at your grades that year and it's the time you take SATs and ACTs and stuff. COLLEGE AHHHHHHHHHHH SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR! ALSO OBAMA WON WHAAAAAAAAAAAT hahaha I love that man, he's so chill.

Anyways, I thought I'd add a bit more of Finnick in here because he's one of my favorite characters from the series. Also my best friend wrote half of this and I think I might have him write a few chapters so that you guys don't constantly have to wait for me, plus he's basically already in college because of swimming anyways (he's really good haha). Would you guys rather have longer chapters periodically or shorter chapters more often? Leave a comment (:

I'm kickin' it back with some Darius Rucker today!

Like always, FAVIEW FAVIEW FAVIEW (:

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_Don't think I don't think about it__  
__Don't think I don't have regrets__  
__Don't think it don't get to me__  
__Between the work and the hurt and the whiskey__  
__Don't think I don't wonder 'bout__  
__Could've been, should've been all worked out__  
__Yeah I know what I felt, and I know what I said__  
__But don't think I don't think about it__  
__Don't think I don't think about it_

Katniss glanced at the stopwatch in her palm, watching the numbers spin to signal how much time had lapsed since her thumb had pressed the "Start" button. She looked up from the device, her grey eyes concentrated on the figure churning up the water. As he started to approach her and his kick and pull strengthened as he inched closer to the wall, she stepped back from the edge and pressed the "Stop" button on the watch just as his fingertips touched the wall with a final surge of energy.

Finnick tossed his goggles nonchalantly onto the floor next to Katniss and relaxed against the wall, covered in cement and turquoise tiles. "Time?"

"2:04.78," Katniss announced, in awe of just the way the time sounded on her tongue.

Finnick nodded, slowly peeling the tight navy blue latex cap off of his head and submerging his bronze locks in the chlorinated water.

"That's really good," Katniss commented. "I mean, for a 200 IM? In meters? That's amazing. But you already know that."

The seventeen-year-old shrugged. "Meh. It's okay for a practice time, I guess. I went 2 minutes flat in Hawaii in August." He stepped out of the pool and headed over to the bleachers where his Speedo bag and towel were located, with Katniss following him, stopwatch still tightly clenched in her palm. Finnick was on the Junior National Team, and was one of their stars.

"By the way, thanks for helping me out today," Finnick said as he wrapped a towel around his waist, covering up his skimpy speedo. Katniss was immediately drawn to his fine abdominals—he wasn't insanely built or ripped like weightlifters or bodybuilders, but toned, which Katniss appreciated a lot more. His abs could have been advertised on the Hollister bags at the mall. "Annie doesn't like swimming."

Katniss raised an eyebrow and dragged her eyes off of his abs and to his sparkling green eyes. "Why doesn't Annie like swimming?"

"She had an accident when she was little," Finnick replied, stuffing his goggles and cap into his Speedo backpack. "Weird, huh?"

Katniss smiled at the boy. After the incident with Cato and the phone conversation, she had been avoiding a lot of the people from her former lunch group and had been hanging out with solely Peeta, and Annie and Rue during classes. Finnick had been her homework help and swim buddy for the past couple of months, and since he was Annie's long-time boyfriend, she welcomed him into her life and hung out with him often. She would talk to Marvel and Gale at times, but no more than a few jokes or exchanges. The one person she couldn't forgive was Cato, but for some reason she couldn't muster up the courage to confront him, either. Not that it mattered, anyways. He and Glimmer had become a thing now.

"So you're still trying out next weekend, right?" Finnick inquired as he swung the pack onto one shoulder and started to walk out of the pool area, still completely shirtless.

"Yeah," Katniss responded. "I hear you guys need breaststrokers."

"Definitely," Finnick nodded. "And we need some pretty girls on the team, too."

Katniss blushed at Finnick's compliment. She'd learned to take his words as mere kind gestures, not flirtatious acts. "Haha, I think Annie fills that void well enough. I'm not sure I'm fast enough to make the team though, I haven't practiced intensely in a really long time."

"Nah," Finnick said as he opened the door on the passenger side of his red Ferrari for her. She stepped in as he walked around the car and sat in the driver's seat and began to pull out of the recreation center's parking lot. "Cato says all the time that you used to beat him."

Katniss laughed. "Yeah, when we were like six!"

Immediately after she'd uttered the words, she paused and let it sink in. "Cato still talks about me?"

Finnick tensed up, a complete contrast to his usual chill, carefree self. He ruffled his bronze locks. "Sorry, I forgot it's a touchy subject."

"But he still talks about me?"

"Yeah," Finnick lied through his teeth, hoping the girl in his car would believe him. "But only a few times. Like passerby stuff. You know."

"Oh," Katniss muttered, slowly sinking back into her seat, trying to mask her disappointment as much as she could. "So, is he trying out?"

Finnick nodded, hoping that Katniss would drop the subject. He didn't want to give away more than he was supposed to, and Katniss was too nice of a girl for him to hurt for his friend's benefit. "Yeah. I mean, he is a co-captain."

The Ferrari came to a halt in front of Katniss' house, and she climbed out of the car. "Yeah, I forgot," she muttered almost mindlessly. "Anyways, thanks for the ride. See you at school, I guess."

"See you," Finnick said, pulling out of the driveway. He'd have a lot to talk about tonight.

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"Dude, we need to talk," Finnick said as he busted open the door to Cato's room in the Evans house. He was disgusted to see Glimmer on top of his best friend, but Cato pushed her aside.

"Dude, do you bother _knocking _once in a while?!"

"Once in a while, yeah," Finnick answered. "But this is important."

Glimmer shot the bronze-haired boy a glare. "We're _busy._"

Finnick rolled his eyes. "Ever heard anything called 'bros before hoes,' Glim? Besides, don't you have a math test tomorrow? You could really use the grade."

Glimmer gave him another death glare and stalked out of Cato's room, shutting the door behind her.

Cato sat up on his bed, putting a hand through his signature sandy blonde locks. "Did you have a reason you interrupted my sesh, or were you just wanting some bonding time? Because honestly you can do that with Gale or Annie or someone."

"Shut up," Finnick scoffed, settling down on one of the chairs in Cato's room. "I don't get why you date her in the first place."

"Who, Glim?" Cato asked. "Why wouldn't I date her? She's good looking, she has sass, she's not a prude. Who else would I want?"

Finnick shrugged, pulling out his iPhone and scrolling through his recent messages from Marvel. "I don't know, Katniss maybe?"

Cato growled. "Don't talk to me about Katniss. Besides, she has Peeta now."

"Yeah, I don't think she does," Finnick said casually, scrolling through the newsfeed on his Facebook App now.

Cato paused. What did he mean, she didn't like Peeta? That was the whole reason she'd kicked him out of her life—that was the reason they were in the longest fight of their entire decade-long friendship. That was the _reason _he was with Glimmer now. Besides, he saw her and Peeta in the hallways and at lunch all the time—that stupid, innocent blonde punk would bring fresh goods from his bakery and Cato would have to watch the two eat and laugh together from the corner of his eye. The kind of things him and her should be doing—her and Baker Boy.

"What," Cato started, taking a while to process what Finnick had told him, "What do you _mean _she doesn't like him anymore?"

Finnick flashed his signature smile, showing off a row of pearly white teeth that seemed to shine in the light of the room. "Well, call me Sherlock, but I think she's still got some feelings for you, Evans."

Cato picked up a basketball from his bedside table and lied back down on his bed, tossing the ball up and catching it repeatedly. "And you got this how?"

"We were talking about tryouts and swim and stuff," Finnick began, but not before he was interrupted by Cato.

"Yeah, she's still trying out right?"

Finnick shot Cato a look, grassy green eyes meeting bright blue. "Yes, if you'd let me explain."

"Right," Cato said. "Sorry."

"Anyways," Finnick started up again. "We were talking about it, and how she was going to try out, and I mentioned you. It was completely an accident, but she got pretty weird about it and started asking about you."

"Really?" Cato inquired, eager. He was relieved—no, glad—that Katniss still thought about him. At least she didn't hate him as much as he thought. It wasn't that he was dating Glimmer to make her jealous—no, it wasn't quite that. But after Katniss had rejected him, he'd begun to think that he wasn't good enough to deserve her.

"Yes, Romeo, really," Finnick rolled his eyes. "I avoided the convo as much as possible because I didn't want to give away that I'm basically spying for you."

"You're not spying," Cato scoffed.

Finnick glanced at Cato, his face in doubt. "Let's be real, Evans."

Cato shrugged. He wasn't asking his friends to _spy _on her, but rather inform him of the things she was up to. It didn't really count as spying.

The buzz of Finnick's sleek iPhone 5 interrupted Cato from his thoughts. Finnick checked the screen, only to see that it bore the name of his long-time girlfriend Annie Cresta. "Gotta go," the bronze-haired boy said.

"Yeah, later," Cato called out as Finnick dashed out of the Evans house and into his Ferrari. The next time he would get a chance to talk to Katniss would be try-outs. Only a few more days until Cato could charm his best friend back—and besides, who could resist those abs?


End file.
